Books have been written on this item, and the controversy and squabbling about where the "hot" slots are installed in a casino are still taking place – over sixty yrs after slot games were first installed in the casinos.
The standard rule is that the better slots were positioned just inside the entry of the casino; so that casino fanatics passing by would be able to see real jackpot winners and be keen enough to come into the casino and play. Our theory is that this is no longer the case.
Just about all of the major casinos presently are giant complexes … you can no longer see inside from the sidewalk, so there’s no longer a reason to place the ‘loose’ slot games near any exits.
An additional traditional rule is that loose slots are put on the major aisles in the casinos, again so that more people could see winning jackpots and be motivated to play. Importantly however, we find that this also isn’t a universal rule any more.
What casinos found over the years is that people walking down the busy aisles were frequently on the way to somewhere else. If they played slot games at all, they would simply put in their loose change because they happened to be walking by. Win or lose, they would very often not stop to keep playing. And the very last thing a casino wants is for someone to win a jackpot by playing only a few coins and then not stay to put it all back in!
In recent times, casinos are constantly changing their perspective about where to place the loose slot machines.